


The Wilds

by morganoconner



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, M/M, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-13
Updated: 2012-01-18
Packaged: 2017-12-04 21:04:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/715069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morganoconner/pseuds/morganoconner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wherein shifter!Castiel is in a bit of a bind, and another shifter comes to his rescue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pandelion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandelion/gifts).



Castiel knows he's going to die. Badly wounded, he doesn't have the ability to fend off an entire pack of wolves, and they're circling now, hungry from the harsh winter conditions, and like this, Castiel is easy prey.

Perhaps, if he could shift, he could startle them into giving him a few moments longer to _think_ , but the wound in his side will finish him for sure if he tries, and anyway, he doubts their confusion would last for long enough to make a difference. Man or leopard, he's still just a bag of meat to the starving creatures.

The big one, the leader of the pack, dips his head low and growls, and Castiel braces himself, ready to go down fighting.

And then, from seemingly nowhere, _salvation_. Before he has a chance to understand what he's seeing, the spitfire bobcat is already clawing and screaming and tearing its way into the pack, going for eyes and throats and anything else it can dig its claws and teeth into.

The wolves were already tired; Castiel didn't go down easy. With this new threat in their midst, they cut their losses and run, darting away into the night, howling at the loss of their meal.

If he were in human form, Castiel would thank the creature who saved his life, currently sitting on its haunches licking a paw clean. As it is, all he can manage is a faint whine before his wounds becomes too much, and his vision blurs and then goes dark.

~

He wakes in a den that's far too small, but the fact that he opens his eyes at all is a gift he knows he should be grateful for. He doesn't know how the little bobcat managed to drag him here, but it's warm, warmer still with the creature curled up at his side sound asleep, and his wounds have been bathed clean, and he thinks if he's careful, he may even be able to shift soon and perhaps speed the healing a bit.

He's never met another shifter in all his time in these forests, but he knows that, like him, they're all very good at keeping themselves hidden away from prying eyes. That this one revealed itself for what it was to save his life….

As though responding to his thoughts, eyes that glow amber blink open, and the smaller cat fixes him with a belligerent stare. _Quit worrying and go back to sleep, you moron,_ is the message clearly being sent, and Castiel receives it loud and clear. He ducks his head, then leans over to swipe his tongue over the bobcat's muzzle. _Thank you,_ it's meant to say.

He's mostly asleep when there's a shift in the air, a long stretch against his side, and then human fingers curling into the fur of his neck. "My name is Gabriel," he hears whispered against his ear. "But we'll meet properly when you're not hanging out at death's door, yeah?"

 _Gabriel_ , Castiel says to himself, and the name follows him into his dreams.


	2. Impulse

The shifter he rescued must have lost track of forms in his sleep, because when Gabriel opens his eyes in the morning, sunlight is streaming into the den, illuminating a man by his side instead of the cat he fell asleep against. A fringe of dark hair, a pale face, a long, lean body that's nothing at all like the sleek and powerful build of the leopard the man can become.

Gabriel tilts his head, gazing at the man appreciatively. Curious fingers follow the path his eyes take along soft skin, over angular hips and down a warm thigh. It's been a long time since he's had the luxury of another shifter in his den, and he has to admit that it's a temptation he hadn't expected.

Beneath his wandering hands, the shifter stirs, and cobalt eyes slit open, squinting against the brightness of the day. "Gabriel?" he murmurs, and a little thrill goes through Gabriel that he remembered his name.

"That'd be me," he says, grinning, not removing his hand from the shifter's side, where only last night there had been a life-threatening wound and now there's just smooth skin. "But the question is, who're _you?_ "

He gets a long stare in return, no hint of what's going on in the other's man's head until finally he says, "My name is Castiel."

Castiel. He likes it. It definitely suits the shifter, a powerful name for a powerful creature. He also likes Castiel's voice, the way it's deep like crushed velvet. "Well then, Castiel. Pleasure to meet you." He waggles his eyebrows and moves closer, burrowing into Castiel's warmth. If he were to shift, he'd probably already be purring.

Castiel seems taken aback by the sudden closeness, but that's okay. It's not like this is a big den, and it's getting colder this time of year, especially when he's not wearing his fur to protect him. Gabriel's willing to use the excuse when it suits his purposes.

"I owe you my life," Castiel says after a long moment. Gabriel feels him slowly begin to relax, lowering his head just enough to sniff at Gabriel's neck.

"Bah," Gabriel says, waving it off. He tilts his head just the slightest bit to give Castiel more access, a new, delightful feeling curling itself in his gut when Castiel's nose presses against his pulse. "Lots of wolves around these parts. Nothin' I couldn't handle." He sighs, shifts even closer so that his whole body is pressed up tight against Castiel's.

"Are you always this forward?" Castiel wonders, sounding just this side of amused. His voice, deep and delicious, vibrates in his chest, and Gabriel feels it shiver through him.

"Nope." He grins up at Castiel. "Think you're just special."

He's not expecting Castiel's tongue to flicker out to taste his skin, nor is he expecting the way he feels it like an electric shock to his system. He can't stop the small moan from escaping, and then Castiel moves, propping himself up on his elbows to stare down at Gabriel. "Hmm," he says, tilting his head. He brings one hand up to trace over the curve of Gabriel's mouth, and Gabriel has no idea what this is or what's even happening right now, but he _likes_ it.

He wants to make a joke of it, ask if this is something Castiel does with all the cats who save his hide, but he just can't form the words that would break this moment, and by the time he _does_ open his mouth to say something, anything, Castiel is already leaning down to kiss him.

Gabriel opens to the onslaught without thought, and it's only after he finds himself already shattering from the inside out that he thinks to wonder at the ease with which he gives himself over.


End file.
